Friday, April 20, 2012

10 Top Photography Composition Rules

There are no fixed rules in photography, but there are guidelines which can often help you to enhance the impact of your photos.

It may sound clichéd, but the only rule in photography is that there
are no rules. However, there are are number of established composition
guidelines which can be applied in almost any situation, to enhance the
impact of a scene.

These guidelines will help you take more compelling photographs,
lending them a natural balance, drawing attention to the important parts
of the scene, or leading the viewer's eye through the image.

Once you are familiar with these composition tips, you'll be surprised
at just how universal most of them are. You'll spot them everywhere, and
you'll find it easy to see why some photos "work" while others feel
like simple snapshots.

Rule of Thirds

Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. The rule of thirds
says that you should position the most important elements in your scene
along these lines, or at the points where they intersect.

Doing so will add balance and interest to your photo. Some cameras even
offer an option to superimpose a rule of thirds grid over the LCD
screen, making it even easier to use.

Balancing Elements

Placing your main subject off-centre, as with the rule of thirds,
creates a more interesting photo, but it can leave a void in the scene
which can make it feel empty. You should balance the "weight" of your
subject by including another object of lesser importance to fill the
space.

Leading Lines

When we look at a photo our eye is naturally drawn along lines. By
thinking about how you place lines in your composition, you can affect
the way we view the image, pulling us into the picture, towards the
subject, or on a journey "through" the scene. There are many different
types of line - straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag, radial etc - and each
can be used to enhance our photo's composition.

Symmetry and Patterns

We are surrounded by symmetry and patterns, both natural and man-made.,
They can make for very eye-catching compositions, particularly in
situations where they are not expected. Another great way to use them is
to break the symmetry or pattern in some way, introducing tension and a
focal point to the scene.

Viewpoint

Before photographing your subject, take time to think about where you
will shoot it from. Our viewpoint has a massive impact on the
composition of our photo, and as a result it can greatly affect the
message that the shot conveys. Rather than just shooting from eye level,
consider photographing from high above, down at ground level, from the
side, from the back, from a long way away, from very close up, and so
on.

Background

How many times have you taken what you thought would be a great shot,
only to find that the final image lacks impact because the subject
blends into a busy background? The human eye is excellent at
distinguishing between different elements in a scene, whereas a camera
has a tendency to flatten the foreground and background, and this can
often ruin an otherwise great photo. Thankfully this problem is usually
easy to overcome at the time of shooting - look around for a plain and
unobtrusive background and compose your shot so that it doesn't distract
or detract from the subject.

Depth

Because photography is a two-dimensional medium, we have to choose our
composition carefully to conveys the sense of depth that was present in
the actual scene. You can create depth in a photo by including objects
in the foreground, middle ground and background. Another useful
composition technique is overlapping, where you deliberately partially
obscure one object with another. The human eye naturally recognises
these layers and mentally separates them out, creating an image with
more depth.

Framing

The world is full of objects which make perfect natural frames, such as
trees, archways and holes. By placing these around the edge of the
composition you help to isolate the main subject from the outside world.
The result is a more focused image which draws your eye naturally to
the main point of interest.

Cropping

Often a photo will lack impact because the main subject is so small it
becomes lost among the clutter of its surroundings. By cropping tight
around the subject you eliminate the background "noise", ensuring the
subject gets the viewer's undivided attention.

Experimentation

With the dawn of the digital age in photography we no longer have to
worry about film processing costs or running out of shots. As a result,
experimenting with our photos' composition has become a real
possibility; we can fire off tons of shots and delete the unwanted ones
later at absolutely no extra cost. Take advantage of this fact and
experiment with your composition - you never know whether an idea will
work until you try it.

Composition in photography is far from a science, and as a result all
of the "rules" above should be taken with a pinch of salt. If they don't
work in your scene, ignore them; if you find a great composition that
contradicts them, then go ahead and shoot it anyway. But they can often
prove to be spot on, and are worth at least considering whenever you are
out and about with your camera.